With record low temperatures in the forecast for the Chicago area and unheard of wind chills, an unprecedented number of closings have occurred in Lake County, from school districts to the County Building to the courts.

Even Lake County Forest Preserves officials announced Tuesday that its preserves, trails and dog parks will be closed Wednesday and Thursday.

What won’t be closed? Lake County PADS for one, according to Executive Director Joel Williams.

“It’s been a busy winter overall. But minus-20 or 20 above zero, cold is cold,” he said.

PADS has beds for more than 100 homeless clients at two churches each night, and some families are being put up at local hotels through other organizations that partner with PADS. In addition, people with no particular affiliation are stepping forward to help out.

“We’re not concerned about our capacity. We’ve been down this road before,” Williams said.

Frank Abderholden/News-Sun

Joel Williams, executive director of PADS talks Tuesday in his office. PADS has more than 100 beds set aside, families will be put up at local hotels and an overflow site ready just in case.

Joel Williams, executive director of PADS talks Tuesday in his office. PADS has more than 100 beds set aside, families will be put up at local hotels and an overflow site ready just in case. (Frank Abderholden/News-Sun)

The Gymnastics Factory in Grayslake teamed up with American Shaman owner Zach Camp after learning he was going to pay for a veteran to stay at a hotel. Gymnastics Factory owner Jo Anne Alam said she thought that was a terrific idea considering the cold on the way.

“We put it out on Facebook, and people just started calling us and donating. These were people we didn’t even know,” she said, adding that enough was collected for 10 families to be able to stay in a hotel.

“These people were so grateful its mind-boggling. I’m so excited this came together,” Alam added. “They can take a hot shower, and breakfast is included. With some of the money left over, we are thinking of having a pizza party Thursday night.”

While people are used to schools closing, the list of closings for Wednesday and Thursday is pretty impressive and includes the Lake County Health Department’s non-essential service providers and the 19th Judicial Circuit Court, except for bond court.

“The only other time I can think of is Snowmegeddon in 2011,” said Mike Tully, the forest preserve’s chief operating officer, who has been around for nearly 30 years.

“We didn’t officially close, but we had a hard time staying open and keeping up with the snow,” he said, referring to the Feb. 2, 2011, blizzard that hit Lake County with up to 19 inches of snow.

But with the governor signing a disaster proclamation and declaring a state of emergency mobilizing state resources to respond to the hardest-hit areas, and other agencies closing, Tully said it made sense to close forest preserve facilities.

“The rangers will still be out there,” he noted, just in case someone tries to use a preserve and gets into trouble in the extreme cold.

Chief Judge Jay W. Ukena felt the same way about the decision to close circuit courtroom doors.

"While we are concerned about the timely resolution of individual cases, we must balance that with overall public safety. Therefore, due to extreme hazardous conditions and dangerously low temperatures, the 19th Judicial Circuit is closing to ensure the safety of the court patrons, jurors and employees," he said in a statement.

“We have some employees that take a train to work, and that’s a seven-block walk,” he added. “We can make up these dates later. This is really extreme cold.”

Ukena remembers staying closed for a day during the blizzard of 2011, but never two days.

The annual homeless count by the Lake County Coalition for the Homeless was postponed from Wednesday to Feb. 6 due to this week’s weather. Those interested in volunteering for the Point-In-Time (PIT) Count next week can fill out a sign-up form at www.lakecountyhomeless.org/get-involved/volunteer/.

At PADS, Williams said that the organization has been keeping on top of homeless people camping and staying outdoors, so they do not expect a big problem with that.

“We’ve been keeping up with our outreach,” he said. “And we have an overflow site if the churches reach capacity.”

Even businesses are adjusting, with the Gymnastics Factory closing and Piggly Wiggly in Antioch and Zion announcing on Facebook that for safety reasons they will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

In Fox Lake, Waste Management announced that on Wednesday it will not be running collection trucks. Service will resume on Thursday, and will be running one day behind the rest of the week, like the days following a holiday.

Wind chills between minus-45 to minus-55 degrees and temperatures significantly below zero are expected on Wednesday. Temperatures this cold can cause frostbite to exposed skin in as little as five minutes, and can cause other life-threatening situations like hypothermia, according to the National Weather Service.

Williams said that while clients know they cannot be under the influence in order to stay at a shelter, he said they would work with police so no one is staying outside.

In Waukegan, police Cmdr. Joe Florip also recounted the blizzard of 2011 when officers used their 24-hour desk area for stranded commuters and eventually opened a training room so people could stay warm.

He said they will be operating the same way on Wednesday and Thursday.

“’No’ is not an option. We’re going to make sure people get through this,” he said.